Edison hikes San Onofre payoff demand

Claimed losses due to Mitsubishi generator failure rise from $4 to $7.6 billion.

Southern California Edison, operator of the now-defunct San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, is doubling down on warranty claims against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Japanese manufacturer of four steam turbine generators that failed prematurely and ultimately led to the plant's demise.

Back in 2013, called for arbitration through the International Chamber of Commerce, claiming losses in excess of $4 billion were Mitsubishi's fault. For their part, the Japanese manufacturer insists its liability for the faulty designs, which Edison had a hand in crafting, are capped under a warranty agreement at about $137 million.

Earlier this week, Mitsubishi disclosed to shareholders that Edison is now demanding as much as $7.6 billion, a move that sent the company's stock tumbling. Share prices are down more than 8 percent since the announcement, and the stock is trading near six-month lows on the Tokyo exchange.

Arbitration on the matter isn't expected until sometime in 2016, leaving time for more to come to light as authorities consider reopening a settlement case that places the bulk of shutdown-related costs on utility customers who in the past received a portion of their electricity from San Onofre.

This is yet another SCE/CPUC PR SHAM, since they are not coming to SoCal to hear from all those affected, the majority of those that will appear in SF will be PRO-SCE speakers since they have been paid to be able to attend...

#sanonofregate

Citizens group asked for Darling to be removed from shutdown matters -
By Ricky Young/UT

Snip

The consumer group headed by activist Ray Lutz asked the California Public Utilities Commission to remove Administrative Law Judge Melanie Darling from the San Onofre case because of backchannel communication she had with an Edison executive.
Edison wants to keep San Onofre judge

Lawyers for Southern California Edison are challenging a motion from a citizens’ group calling on state utility regulators to remove the judge overseeing the San Onofre shutdown proceeding.
Edison said in a 14-page filing Wednesday that an argument from the Coalition to Decommission San Onofre lacked merit, contains errors and misrepresentations and should be rejected.
“CDSO’s reconsideration motion is based on inaccurate representations regarding the law and the record of this proceeding,” the filing states.

It should be obvious to all ratepayers that SCE is now fighting this case in the public press using their press releases (and the CPUC is helping them do it), while offering the rest of us no opportunity to respond to their media blitz, and MSM is playing along, while appearing to "cover the story"!

To demand that this CPUC this dog and pony show be held in SoCal not SF and/or better yet be delayed until AFTER the investigation of both the CPUC's emails and their ALJ's involvement in the phony "settlement" that benefits only SCE and SDG&E. Otherwise we the ratepayers will continue to get "handled" by the very people seeking to coverup their involvement in this $5 Billion Debacle.